Hamas resistance group said Monday that it holds Egypt "responsible" for the lives of four Palestinians, members of Hamas, who were kidnapped last week by an armed group in the northern Sinai.

Hamas resistance group said Monday that it holds Egypt "responsible" for the lives of four Palestinians, members of Hamas, who were kidnapped last week by an armed group in the northern Sinai.

In a statement, the movement urged the Egyptian authorities to do more to secure their release, and called on human rights and political organizations to play a bigger role condemning the "savage" kidnapping.

Hamas also warned the ISIL-affiliated group against harming the kidnapped members.

ISIL is the term used when referring to the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' takfiri group.

"The criminals who dare to take action against out people falsely think that the Palestinian people might forget or ignore this case," the statement added.

The four Palestinians -- identified as Abd al-Basit Abd al-Dayim, Abdullah Said Abdullah Abu Jibbeen, Yasir Fathi Misbah Zanoun and Hussein Khamis al-Thabda -- were kidnapped at gunpoint on August 19 after they crossed through the Rafah border  into Egypt.

Egyptian officials told Ma'an that they were taken hostage by the Sinai Province armed group as a bargaining chip to force Hamas to release some 50 Salafists currently imprisoned in Gaza.

Negotiations have reportedly begun between Hamas and the militant group, with the involvement of both Palestinian and Egyptian mediators.

However, sources close to the Sinai Province group -- which pledged allegiance to ISIL in November -- have said the four Hamas members would be killed if Hamas did not comply with the group's demands.